Emergency safety kit



March 5, 1968 E. "r. BUGYI 3,371,771

EMERGENCY SAFETY KIT Filed June 29, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .2. w m am m.9 m 4% A% F u. MW 4 w 7w H .B u

March 5, 1968 E. T. BUGYI 3,371,771

EMERGENCY SAFETY KIT Filed June 29, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4H av 64 5; 47% 2 f /10 i 22) \/26 44 a? I J: k ja MHIHIH I INVENTOR.

United States Patent ()fiice 3,371,771 EMERGENCY SAFETY KIT Edward T.Bugyi, 190 Knollwood Drive, Stratford, Conn. 06497 Filed June 29, 1966,Ser. No. 561,604 7 Claims. (Cl. 206-16) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Anemergency kit of generally rectangular cross section having a hingedfront with the hinge displaced upwardly from the bottom edge to form atray when the kit is open. A receptacle is built into the top of the kitto receive an article, such as a lantern. An opening in the casereceives a fire extinguisher which is secured by a bracket and strap.

This invention relates to a safety kit and, more particularly, to such akit which is especially designed to be carried in vehicles, such asautomobiles and boats.

It is highly desirable for motorists, boaters, and other vehicleoperators to carry with them certain pieces of equipment for use inemergencies. This equipment should include, among other items, a firstaid kit, an electric hand lantern, a fire extinguisher, and flares. Themajor difiiculty in the past has been that the few operators who carrysuch equipment generally stow it rather haphazardly, for example in thetrunk of a car, Where metal parts are subject to corrosion and where itsexistence may be completely forgotten. A fire extinguisher, for example,may very rarely be required. Unless it is stowed in such a manner as tobe readily and repeatedly observable, its presence may be completelyforgotten in the event of a serious emergency.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providean improved safety kit wherein the most important items of emergencyequipment are secured in an exposed and readily available fashion. Otherobjects are to provide such a kit which provides convenient andaccessible storage space for various items of emergency equipment. Themanner in which these objects are achieved will be more apparent fromthe following description, the appended claims, and the figures of theattached drawings wherein:

F1631 is a top view, partially broken away, of a safety kit inaccordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the kit of FIG. 1 partially broken away toillustrate its internal construction;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross section taken substantially along the line33 of FIG. 2 showing the kit in its open position; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross section taken substantially along the line44 of FIG. 2 showing the manner in which the kit may be hung on abulkhead or other vertical surface.

The objects of this invention are achieved by an emergency kit whichcomprises a case of generally rectangular cross section. The caseincludes front and back side walls, first and second end walls, a bottomwall and a top wall, the top wall defining first and second openings.Portions of the front side wall, the end walls, and the top wall form aclosure which is hingedly secured to the lower portion of the front sidewall along a line which is displaced from, and parallel to, the bottomwall. Latch means are selectively engageable with the case and theclosure to retain the closure in a closed position. Receptacle means aremounted in the top wall communicating with the first opening. Anelectric hand lantern is removably positioned in the receptacle andlantern securing means on the top wall secure the lantern in thereceptacle. A fire extin- 3,371,771 Patented Mar. 5, 1968 guisher isremovably positioned in the second opening and the case includes meansfor securing the extinguisher in the second opening.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated an emergency safety kitcomprising a case 10 of generally rectangular cross section including abottom wall 12, end walls 14, 16, side walls 18, and top wall 22. Theside wall 20 forms the front of the case and a portion 20, together withportions 14, 16' of each end wall and a portion 22' of the top wall,forms a closure which is hingedly secured to front wall 20 by means of apiano-type hinge 24. Hinge 24 is parallel to bottom wall 12 butdisplaced therefrom, as is shown most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4. Thispermits the closure to be opened, as shown in FIG. 3, to provide accessto the interior of the case while the bottom of the case forms a trayfor retaining articles therein, even in the open condition. The top andsides of the closure opening are encircled by a flange 26 which mateswith the interior surface of the closure. A latch 28 mounted on the topof the case serves to retain the closure in its closed position. Ahandle 30 mounted on the top wall makes the case easily portable.

The top wall defines a rectangular opening 32 and a circular opening 34at opposite ends of the handle 30. Mounted within the rectangularopening 32 is a boxshaped receptacle 36 which depends downwardly fromthe top wall into the interior of the case. The receptacle is mountedagainst the top wall by means of horizontally extending flanges 38secured by screws 40 or other suitable means. The receptacle 36 isdesigned to receive the battery portion of an electric hand lantern Lwhich is held in place by means of a strap 42 which is secured at oneend to back side wall 18 by means of suitable rivets 44 and at the otherto top wall 22 by means of a snap 46. Mounted within the case 10 andagainst the end wall 16 by means of screws 48 is a spacer block 50. Theinner side of the block 50 is substantially aligned with circularopening 34. A vertical bracket 52 is mounted against the block 50 andextends upwardly through the opening 34. Secured to the bracket 52 is aflexible metal band 54 having two free ends which are interengageable bymeans of a catch 56. A resilient foamed rubber cushion 58 is positionedon the bottom wall 12 below the opening 34. A fire extinguisher E ispositioned within the circular opening 34, its base resting againstcushion 58. The band 54 and the catch 56 secure the extinguisher to thebracket 52. Mounted within the front side wall portion 20' forming thehinged closure are a plurality of spring clips 60 which retain threeflares F for easy accessibility. A sheet 62 of emery cloth or other highfriction material is cemented against the inner surface of the side wallportion 20' to provide a striking surface for the flares or for frictionmatches.

Due to the placement of the hinge 24 along a line which is displacedfrom the bottom wall 12, opening of the case as shown in FIG. 3 does notpermit the escape of articles contained therein. This feature is ofparticular value when the case contains a number of small items or whenused in an unstable environment such as a boat or airplane. Articlessuch as a first aid kit K and a rotating beacon B may be included amongthe contents of the case. This feature whereby the bottom of the case isa closed tray, even when the case is open, is of particular value whenthe case is hung from a wall, bulkhead or other vertical surface asbreakage of articles rolling or falling from the case is prevented. Thesize of this invention is provided with a pair of angled hanging rings64 which permit the case to be hung on a vertical support S by means ofsuitable hooks 66.

It is believed that the many advantages of this invention will now beapparent to those skilled in the art. It

3 will also be apparent that a number of variations and modificationsmay be made in the invention without departing from its spirit andscope. Accordingly, the foregoing description is to be construed asillustrative only, rather than limiting. This invention is limited onlyby the scope of the following claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. An emergency kit for motorists and the like which comprises: a caseof generally rectangular cross section including front and back sidewalls, first and second end walls, a bottom wall, and a top walldefining first and second openings therein; closure means formed byportions of said front side wall, said end walls, and said top wall,said closure means being hingedly secured to the lower portion of saidfront side wall along a line displaced from, and parallel to, saidbottom wall; latch means selectively engageable with said case andclosure means to retain said closure means in a closed position;receptacle means depending into said case from said top wall andcommunicating with said first opening; securing means on said top wallfor securing a removable article in said receptacle; a substantiallyvertical bracket extending upwardly from said to wall adjacent saidsecond opening; and strap means on said bracket for encircling andclamping a fire extinguisher thereto and in said second opening.

2. The kit of claim 1 wherein said receptacle means comprises an opentop box extending downwardly into said case a distance less than thedepth of said case, the open top of said box coinciding with said firstopening.

3. The kit of claim 2 wherein flare-supporting spring clip means aremounted onthe interior of said closure means.

4. The kit of claim 2 wherein an electric hand lantern is removablymounted in said receptacle means.

5. The kit of claim 2 wherein handle means are mounted on said top wallintermediate said first and second openings.

6. The kit of claim 5 wherein said first opening is substantiallyrectangular and said second opening substantially circular.

7. The kit of claim 6 wherein a substantially cylindrical fireextinguisher is removably disposed in said case, extending outwardlythrough said second opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 904,545 11/1908 Madeira 206-162,645,392 7/1953 Gottsegn et al. 2,982,392 5/1961 Bossone 20616 FOREIGNPATENTS 764,061 12/1956 Great Britain.

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, 111., Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,371,771 March 5, 1968 Edward T. Bugyi It is certified that errorappears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent arehereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 66, for "size" read case column 3, line 24, for "to" readtop Signed and sealed this 15th day of July 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. JR.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

